Zablytany
by the corrupted quiet one
Summary: A Rapunzel-esque tale of Princess Natalia and how a carefree American set her free. Written for a friend  thus the dedication  Some Belarusian used, most of it inappropriate and to Google Translate's extent of power. R


**Zablytany**

_For my wonderful fake ginger stalker and Tiger husbandu, Erin/Peggy_

_"Once upon a time, there lived a princess with long flowing hair of platinum and an edge to her personality sharper than a knife. The princess was rumoured to be cruel, so her elder sister, out of fear, left her in the care of a crazy wizard with a head thick as his eyebrows. The wizard locked the princess in a tower, and then placed a curse over her that, until a noble prince comes to melt her icy attitude, she'll forever remain a prisoner in the tower. Nineteen years of ill attempts and failures passed before the story of her true rescue began..."

* * *

_

The sun blazed brightly in the sky above, a yellow orb illuminating the baby blue sky without a single interruption by any wicked clouds. From the window of the highest room in the ever so tall tower, Princess Natalia Arlovskaya could gaze out and look at the clear sky, the evergreen tops of the trees looking like a cushiony blanket of leaves even though they were clearly not a comfortable landing.

Natalia frowned, staring out as the birds freely flew in the sky, twirling and circling in the bright noontime air without a care in the world. Her deep ocean blue eyes narrowed, nearly turning green from the pure envy she felt towards the freely fluttering birds that seemed to taunt her.

The princess was had lived in the tower for as long as she could remember, not recalling the last time she got to wander outside the binds of dark grey stone walls. Her sister and brother could tell that, from her birth, she was a bit of a harsh person and not exactly 'princess' material. So, while her brother, who was becoming king of Russland, and her sister, who'd likely serve as the queen alongside him, lived in the castle in the bustling capital, Natalia had to live alone in the tower, her only company being the birds and, occasionally, the _wizard._

Since her brother and sister weren't raising her, they put her in the care of the 'best' wizard they could find, Arthur of the Britain. True, he did help raise her...loosely, but Natalia was still resentful towards him over the fact that it was due to his magic that she was bound to the tower. He gave her food, clothing, and shelter, but that didn't qualify him as a parent in Natalia's opinion. Parents don't keep their children isolated in the middle of the woods. Besides, he was...eccentric to say the least (the fact that he talked to walls and empty space only justified Natalia's dislike).

"Ugh, where is that idyjot?" Natalia grumbled, knowing that it was noon by the sun's high position in the sky, "He should be coming in with some food by now."

The princess groaned, getting up from her spot leaning on the sill, turning and looking at her room, her little home away from her true home. She had to be careful not to trip on her long silver hair as she walked across the dark hardwood floor, looking around the only too familiar paintings, tables, chairs, and so on. The fine canopy bed with fine marine blue satin sheets and wonderful curtains still sat against the north side of her chamber, the end tables still on either side of her bed with candles on them. The bookcase remained where it always had; spanning a section of the southern wall, a comfy white chair sitting with a few piles of books Natalia particularly enjoyed rereading surrounding the lion's paw legs. The dresser was still next to the chair, mirror reflecting as it always had, the blue hairbrush with the white lacy pattern on the dresser as always, platinum strands sticking out from the pale stray bristles. There were still two doors built into the east wall, one leading to her bathroom and the other always locked unless Arthur was coming in with something for her, keeping her from reaching the long winding stairwell that led down and out of the tower to freedom. Everything was the same, the only thing that _ever_ changed being the princess trapped inside, who grew older and more mature, like that even mattered.

Natalia glanced at her reflection in the mirror, looking at how she appeared, remembering when she was a small little girl who was barely tall enough for the top of her head to be seen in the mirror. She was becoming a young woman, and she knew it, seeing how her features were well defined, her breasts were fairly well grown (and a bit large), and how her hair was so _long_. A nice blue bow crowned her head, keeping the hair out of her eyes and letting a platinum trail wind behind her, longer than a bride's train. She'd never cut her hair once in her life, the centimetres of growth telling her just how long she'd lived up in the tower.

_And I'm __**still**__ trapped in here... _Natalia thought, growing sadder the longer she gazed at the pale prisoner of the glass who so perfectly mimicked the prisoner of the tower, _I'm still stuck in this place... Waiting for this curse to be broken... Wondering if when my prince will come so my life will really begin..._

Just then, the door that led to the stairwell swung open, revealing none other than Natalia's wizard caretaker, Arthur. The man's messy blond hair was even more of a wreck than usual, likely due to him working on new potions (or as Natalia thought of it, new ways to get himself _almost_ killed..._Almost...)_. Arthur balanced a platter with Natalia's meal of English porridge and tea shakily on one hand. The princess could tell just by looking at the current scrunch of his eyebrows and annoyance in his emerald eyes that he was not in a good mood. _As usual_.

"Morning, my _sweet_ princess," Arthur greeted her, sarcasm soaking his speech as he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him, "And how is her _highness_ doing today?"

"_Fine_," Natalia said with a sneer, rolling her eyes and looking away from the Briton, "Though I'd feel much better if I wasn't so _high up."_

Arthur chuckled dryly, rolling his green eyes in slight annoyance. He saw fairly well why the future king and queen wanted the youngest out of the way; she was as charming as a basilisk.

"It's not my fault you've a spiteful mouth on you," The wizard said, placing the girl's dinner on the end table near the books, "And is that any way to treat your caretaker?"

"Do you want me to start calling you _mama?"_ The platinum blonde mused, sticking out her tickled pink tongue.

The Brit twitched. Oh lord, that would be worse than constant verbal abuse from the princess! "No...It's fine..." Arthur assured her through gritted teeth, "Now eat your food and I'll check on you later..."

"What, you don't want to have tea with a lady?" Natalia asked, feigning disappointment.

"I have important things to do! Potions to brew! Spells to cast! Time to be spent somewhere else!" Arthur said, flailing his arms as he spoke, walking back towards the door, "I have no time for tea with an ill-mannered princess!"

"Arthur, I'm hurt," Natalia pouted, "I at least thought that looking at those caterpillars eating your face would help distract me from the horrible taste of that _dziarmo_ you call tea." She sneered by the end, feeling quite proud of herself. Over the years, she'd gotten rather skilled in the art of pissing off Arthur; an art she felt should've been more widely embraced.

The blond wheeled around on his heels, green fire flashing with rage. His face started to turn redder than a strawberry, that thin temper he had snapping at her words.

"You listen to me and you listen to me good, you fucking wanker," Arthur hissed, "I'm the one who was told to put this curse upon you. Why? For the good of the bloody kingdom! This is why your family doesn't even want you! _Because you're heart is a cold unfeeling stone to match a spiteful little bitch!"_ All in a huff, the Briton turned back around, opened the door, and stormed down the stairs after slamming the door behind him, his trudging footsteps echoing as he wound down the stone to the base of the tower Natalia had only seen once oh so long ago.

Natalia stood silent in her room, her eyes narrowed as if she were glaring at the Brit through the wood and then having her gaze wind down the staircase. However, after the door slammed, she began to feel warm tears start to squeeze out from her eyes and trickle down her face, though she tried to mask her hurt feelings with a sour, annoyed expression, even though she was the only one there.

Those words really did hurt, even though she'd trained herself over the years to tune Arthur our for the most part.

_He's just pissy again...Nothing to worry about, Nat..._ The girl thought before glancing at her reflection in the mirror. She looked over her form again, observing her curls and how her hair flowed, then gazed at her sorrowfully toned eyes and the glints from the shimmering tears. She didn't want to cry, she wanted to be strong. _Stop crying! Princesses don't cry! It was just Arthur being a mudak again... Nothing to cry over! NOTHING TO SHED A TEAR FOR! _

Her mental reassurances she made to keep her from crying ended terrible, more and more tears seeming to stream from her eyes as she tried to cheer herself up. Her fists clenched, curling into tight balls as she fought back the tears. Her fight was in vain.

"JEBAT JAHO!" Natalia shrieked, grabbing her porridge bowl in a fit of anger and smashing it on the floor in a final effort to calm herself down. The bowl shattered, shards of glass and clumps of poorly made porridge flying everywhere, dotting the furniture with burnt beige globs. The princess shuddered at the silence breaking shatter, taking in deep breaths after that.

_Maybe..._ Natalia thought, wiping her eyes and backing away from the broken bowl, grabbing the cup of tea also offered with her, _Arthur has a point... What kind of princess starts crying and destroying things?_

She sighed, ambling over to the sill to take a seat, careful not to step or sit on her hair. She brought her knees to her chest, curled up as she sat, looking out at the vast stretch of treetops before her. She held the tea cup with a trembling hand, staring at her constantly rippling reflection in the dark reddish-brown liquid.

_Perhaps... I'll be up here forever..._ She thought with a sigh, blinking only to watch a teardrop plop into her tea.

The princess turned her head away from the world she'd never been in, biting her lips. She tossed the cup of tea out the window, letting it fall all the way to the ground outside the tower, only jealous of the thing because it got to touch the ground she'd yearned to walk on for nineteen long years.

* * *

The clamour of galloping horses was roaring behind Alfred as he whipped the reins of his trusty steed, Washington. The blond youth kept glancing back at his pursuers, light sapphire eyes squinting through dirt tinted glasses. It wasn't the first time Alfred had gotten into a skirmish that wound him in trouble. It wasn't his fault he was so damn proud to hail from the land of America, Russland's biggest rival, that he 'offended' people. _Naturally_ there was a long standing controversy between the two lands in terms of political views...

"Speed up, Washington!" Alfred shouted at the milky white horse, "Or the commie police'll catch up! GO GO GO!"

With a neigh, the white horse sped up, Washington pushing all his effort into eluding the three policemen riding after them. The horse galloped off the path, headed into the wilderness instead of just farther east on the Satin Trail. No, they had to go off the path, out to where the police wouldn't find Alfred.

The jockey of the horse looked around the forest as his horse travelled, leading him on a winding path through a thick brush, some tree branches clawing down to reach at the American and try and tear at his clothing.

"Ahaha!" Alfred laughed in victory, looking back and seeing not a trace of his pursuers, "Lost 'em!"

The American kept laughing, looking ahead of him once again, and loosening his grip on the reins just as Washington leaped over a small brook, landing a bit roughly in a clearing on the other side. Alfred, noticing a bit too late that slackening his grip was a bit of a dumb move, flew off the horse, landing face first on the brittle grass and twigs, glasses knocked off his face and landing in front of his head.

"OW!" The blond moaned, his mouth full of dirt. Slowly, the American raised his head, coughing up dirt and squinting around, trying to see where his trusty glasses were so he could see properly again. _Maybe I SHOULD'VE held on... _Alfred though as he groped for his eyewear, looking up at his surroundings. It was a peaceful, normal clearing—nothing special—with trees towering around the perimeter. However, there was one thing that caught his blurry eye; the massive stone tower in the near distance.

His blue eyes widened, the man blinking several times until he grabbed his glasses and smacked them crookedly on his head. The tower came into focus, the structure as real as his noble steed. A tower? Out _here?_ What that he didn't even...

"Washington," Alfred said to his horse, getting to his feet, "It appears we have some investigating to do!" Really, it was polite to stay out of people's business and not run up to clearly secluded towers in the middle of forests; but Alfred was far too inquisitive and curious to pass up an opportunity like scouting out something like that!

The horse grunted, agreeing with his master. The American mounted his trusty companion as quickly as he could, and then snapped the reins.

"Onward, Washington!" Alfred exclaimed, "To yonder tower! _YEEHAW!" _

And with that, Alfred was off.

* * *

The day was growing older, the princess watching the bright sun begin to lower in the sky. Natalia had long finished her chores, leaving her with little to do. True, the girl passed some time painting, sewing, and doing just about every other task she could imagine; but that didn't cure her boredom the slightest.

"Well, there goes another day..." The platinum blonde muttered, running her fingers through her insanely lusciously long hair, "Another _boring_ day..." She sighed, shutting her eyes, just wanting to sit in silence, the cool breeze brushing against her face, the feeling of her fluid hair running between her fingers the only other comforting distraction from her disappointment and sorrow.

Meanwhile, emerging from the brush right by the tower's base, a blond on a milk white horse rocketed in. Alfred got his steed to slow down as he saw how close they were to the grey stone walls, Washington coming to a halt.

"_Weeeeh_..." The man whistled, dismounting, gazing up at the tip top of the tower, "That's one big puppy, right, Washington?"

Washington snorted as a response.

The blond walked a few long paces, staring up at the rough stone bricks that seemed to be stacked endlessly atop one another, reaching nearly to the heavens. Alright, he could see the top, but it still looked _extremely_ far up.

Just then, Alfred caught glimpse of silver high up, faintly seeing the frame of the window. The flash only sparked his interest in the tower more, the American peddling back a few steps so he could properly gaze that far up, able to see the window when he stepped back some.

The man's eyes widened, Alfred's mouth gaping open. In the window sat the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on in his entire life. Despite the fact that she was over a hundred metres above him, Alfred could see her pale form, appearing as an elegant goddess seated on a soaring perch. The hair of silver nearly glowed in the sunlight, only some of it visible to the American. Clearly this woman had to be of some hugely noble status; there was no way she could be a peasant nor could she be a prisoner of the law. But, who was she? That was what Alfred wanted to find out.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!" Alfred yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth like a bullhorn to amplify his already rather loud voice, "YOU UP THERE! MISS! MIIIIIIIIIIIISS!"

The shouts of the man at the bottom of the castle shattered Natalia's peaceful silence. She shuddered, feeling the tranquillity in her mind break into thousands of tiny pieces with the outbursts coming from the ground. And _just_ when she was starting to daydream too...

Her blue eyes flickered open, the princess leaning over and looking down, seeing the figure of the blond man and his horse, a displeased scowl crossing her face.

"Što,

ort vaźmi?"The princess hissed, narrowing her eyes at the mysterious and boisterous newcomer, "Who are you?"

"I'M ALFRED!" The blond beamed, "ALFRED THE HERO! FROM AMERICA! WHO ARE YOU?"

Natalia blankly stared at the American for a moment, hearing him more than clearly. Even though there were so far apart, the princess heard Alfred like the man was seated right next to her.

"I'm Princess Natalia Yulia Alesya Elena Arlovskaya Braginskaya!" The princess spat out her entire birth name, including all three accessory names to make herself seem even more important, "My brother and sister are the king and queen of this land and I am next in line for the throne after my sister! Now leave me alone you loud, obnoxious buffoon!" As much as Natalia wanted to escape the tower, she still couldn't help but act colder than ice to strangers. The small whisper of the small shred of her being that was the perfect, docile, always kind princess told her to tone down her attitude, though the platinum blonde ignored her.

Alfred blinked a few times before coming up with a response. _That's one hell of a long name..._

"PRINCESS?" The blond tilted his head, "THEN WHY ARE YOU UP IN THAT TOWER AND NOT IN A PALACE?"

"STOP SCREAMING SO LOUD!" Her voice shot up to an octave that surpassed Alfred's for a moment, but she soon took a breath and lowered her voice a bit, "I'm here because my family thinks I'm an ill-mannered princess and some wacko wizard cursed me so I can't leave this damn tower until I have a man _tame_ my _'attitude'_." Her voice overflowed with annoyance, more coming from her situation than the American at that point.

"A MAN TO TAME YOU?" He didn't lower his voice one bit, though Alfred was thinking too much about what she'd said to worry about that. Tame her? Like taming a shrew? Well, Natalia did seem to have a bit of a volatile mannerism... But surely a princess so fine and fair couldn't have been all that bad? Plus, he'd even admit that living in a tower alone would turn a person cold, "WELL...I AM A HERO! I CAN SAVE YOU FROM THE TOWER AND SEE IF I CAN...ERM...'TAME' YA!"

The girl's ears perked. Save her from the tower? Did he really offer such a thing? True, there were a few other attempts in the past... But Arthur had for the most part stopped them. That and most of those men just wanted to be king, Natalia could tell from the way they acted. But Alfred... He was different. Far simpler, but that wasn't really a bad thing. He seemed... (_STUPID..._ Natalia bitterly thought) _nice._ Genuinely nice and..._caring_.

"Wh-...what?" Natalia raised an alabaster brow, leaning over out the window some to look at Alfred, the annoyance in her eyes dissolving, letting some hope shine through.

A wide smirk came to Alfred's face, emphasising the warmness of his expression. "NATALIA! NATALIA! UH...I'LL GET YOU DOWN SOMEHOW!"

Without haste, Alfred looked all about, trying to find some way to get up to the high up perch. First, he scurried to the wall, hopping up and trying to climb up on the stones. He only got up a metre before losing his grip and falling flat on his back. "Ow..."

Washington snorted, amused by his master's blunder. Natalia put her face to her palm. Was she really resorting to getting someone like that to save her? Perhaps she really was desperate for freedom.

"SAY...YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ROPE, DO YA?" Alfred asked, chuckling a bit shakily as he got to his feet, brushing off some dirt.

"Rope..." Natalia glanced at her room. There wasn't any rope long enough... But there was something just as good that she noticed... "I don't have _rope_...But I do have _my hair..."_ As soon as she mentioned that, a part of her scolded her on the charge of stupidity. An able bodied man around 80 or 90 kilograms at least scaling a tower at a 90 degree angle using _hair rooted to Natalia's delicate head._ There was clearly _nothing_ wrong with that plan.

"HAIR?" Alfred paused, thinking a moment. It was just crazy enough that it could work! "Well then..." Just too be corny, the blond got down on one knee, trying to mimic a prince from a play he'd heard of, "NATALIA, NATALIA, LET DOWN YOUR LONG HAIR!"

"Erm..." The princess bit her lip, lacing her fingers in the platinum strands. She was reluctant, but it was her fault she'd even suggested the hair-brained idea! So, the girl wound up her hair, making sure it was all knot free before pushing the massive silver 'rope' down from the sill.

The hair flowed down, headed closer and closer to the ground, showing just how truly long it was. Down, down it went, the hair reaching all the way to the bottom, a bit even coiling in a small pile on the grass. Alfred stared in shock at the amount of hair coming from the princess' head, Natalia herself in awe as well. That only proved that she'd been cooped up there too long.

"NOW _THAT'S_ A HEAD OF HAIR..." Alfred remarked before grabbing onto some of the hair, "I'LL START CLIMBING NOW, KAY?"

"W-wait, I don't know..." Natalia said, though she was too quiet for the American to hear her.

"HERE WE GO!" Alfred grabbed on with his other hand and yanked himself up, propelling himself so he could get footing on the stone wall.

"_YEEEEOW!"_ Natalia shrieked, feeling that tug all the way to the roots of her hair. Her head was being pulled towards the window force nearly enough to make her fall out, "_ALFRED THAT'S HURTS!"_

However, Alfred was oblivious to the maiden's yelling, more focused on mastering the art of scaling the wall before him. He gradually moved up in height, though it was much to the princess' suffering.

Suddenly, in the tower room, the door flung open, a rather irritated British wizard with slight charring to his blond hair standing grimly in the doorway. His eyes bulged when he saw the scene of the princess he was charged to protect practically falling out of a window, shouting about someone yanking on her hair.

"NATALIA!" Even if Arthur wasn't her picture perfect parental unit, he knew enough to run and grab the girl by the waist and try and pull her away from the window that could easily lead to her demise if she were to plummet, "GET THE BLOODY HELL AWAY FROM THERE!"

"YEEEEEEEE! LET GO OF ME!" She protested, "YOU IDIOTS YOU'RE BOTH HURTING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I'M COMING, NAT!" Alfred exclaimed, only more determined to hoist himself up to the tower room, thinking that the wizard was attacking her. Naturally, if this assumption was true, he'd need to be the hero and save the damsel.

"YOU! PRAT YANKING THE PRINCESS' HAIR! SOD OFF!" Arthur shouted to Alfred, still trying to pull the princess back.

"BOTH OF YOU LET GO BEFORE YOU TEAR ME IN HALF!" Natalia was regretting that slip of the tongue more and more each moment. Her head was in so much pain from her hair on the verge of being uprooted that she didn't feel as much of the pain of Arthur pulling her back forcefully. That didn't change the fact that she felt like her head would pop off if she had to deal with it any longer.

"THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION, PRINCESS!" Arthur hissed.

"PROTECTION? YOU LOCKED A FAIR MAIDEN IN A TOWER FOR NO REASON HOW IS THAT PROTECTION!" Once again, Alfred was prepared to vocally state his views, not caring as much for the consequence since it was something he truly, strongly believed in.

"IT'S MY DUTY TO KEEP HER HERE AWAY FROM THE PUBLIC SO HER VAPIDNESS DOESN'T TURN THE ROYAL NAME TO AGGRO!" Arthur shouted.

"BUT SHE'S A HUMAN BEING! AND A LOVELY ONE AT THAT!" Alfred exclaimed. Natalia gasped, a warm feeling coming to her face. From the corner of her eye, in the mirror she spied a slight rouge tinge in her cheeks. No one had ever really complimented her before.

"YOU'RE A GIT IF YOU'RE SO VAIN AND DAFT TO THINK THAT ALL THIS IS BASED ON LOOKS!"

"I MAY HAVE JUST MET HER BUT I KNOW THAT SHE'S GOT TO BE NICE DEEP DOWN! IF YOU KEPT HER LOCKED UP ALL THESE YEARS IT'S NO WONDER SHE'S TURNED COLD!"

"SHE WAS LIKE THAT BEFORE!"

"IS THAT ANY REASON TO CURSE HER? BEING WITH PEOPLE WOULD TEACH HER MORE ABOUT MANNERISMS THAN KEEPING HER ALONE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS!"

"THAT'S IT! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS AND YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!" Arthur took out the wand that was concealed in his sleeve, still holding onto Natalia with one arm. With a flick of the wrist, the tip of the wooden wand tapped part of Natalia's hair, instantly cutting it to but upper torso length.

The platinum blonde's eyes widened in horror despite the pain subsiding, knowing that there was no way for Alfred to climb up anymore without support for his 'rope'. Elbowing Arthur in the stomach, she freed herself from the man's arms and rushed to the window. "ALFRED!" She screamed, tears threatening to leave her eyes. Not only would she possibly lose her chance at freedom—in fact that was the least she could worry about—she'd cause a kind, sweet man to lose his life.

"NAT!" Alfred yelled, clinging to a few bricks, looking up at the princess with a face of fright. At the bottom, all of the girl's hair had piled up into a high silver heap.

"Try and climb!" Natalia urged him, leaning over the sill more, reaching down, "I'm here for you! And when you're close enough you can take my hand!"

The American weakly smiled, Natalia's words enough to inspire him to try and work the stones to get to the top, to the woman he so wanted to free and let fly like a bird. The princess couldn't help but smile back, wanting to encourage Alfred further along with feeling truly thankful that such a man as him existed.

"Oh no you don't!" Arthur grumbled, reaching out and grabbing the platinum blonde's wrist, his wand raised to cast a spell that would surly end badly for the other two.

She gasped, looking back at the Briton in shock. She was sure that blow to the elbow would've had him down for at least another minute.

"Nat! I'm comi—" Just then, Alfred lost his grip, feet slipping and old bricks crumbling, fate against him in those moments, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He yelled, falling, gravity trying to bring the blond back down to earth.

"ALFRED!" Natalia fought to look back out the window, heart lurching in her chest. No! A fall like that! It would kill her! No! Anything but that! _Anything_!

Arthur said nothing, a grimace crossing his face for a few seconds. He never intended lives to be lost, but if they were...well...it was just part of the job to let it happen and report it back if needed.

Tears spurted from the princess' eyes, her hands clawing at the window, desperate to attempt—in vain—to stop the fall. Sobs escaped her throat, though these were true cries of more than simple self pity as she did before. This time she was crying over the misery of a loss of something far more valuable than herself.

There was a long period in which the only sound in entire forest was that of Natalia's sobbing, everything else simply falling silent. Even the wind and the animals hushed, stopping in their routines for this occasion.

But, the sound that broke the silence...

"...N-NAT..." Alfred called, "I-I-I'M OK-KAY!"

The girl's heart skipped a beat, her wails stopping abruptly at the wonderful sound of the American man. Arthur even paused; gasping when he heard what he thought was impossible. His grip on Natalia relaxed, allowing the princess to leave his arms again and rush to the window, looking down, and tears still running down her cheeks.

Lying on the pile of soft silver hair was Alfred, sprawled out some, looking a bit comfortable even. The massive amount of hair ended up serving as a worthy cushion of the high fall. The blond's smile was even visible to the girl so high above, filling her heart with sheer joy.

"ALFRED!" She cheered, laughing a bit as new happy teardrops rolled down. She leaned out the window even more, wanting to get a better view of the American; but she didn't realise that she'd shifted too much weight over the edge until it was too late. "_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

"NATALIA!" Both blond men shouted in unison, Alfred shooting to his feet as Arthur bulleted to the window.

The princess screamed as she fell, shutting her eyes, afraid to hit the ground. She was farther up from the point where Alfred fell, and her bones were far more delicate; lord knew what would happen when she got to the bottom.

Fumbling a bit, Arthur aimed the wand at the princess, taking a short pause before deciding what spell to cast. He could easily cast a spell to bring her back up into the tower...Or he could simply make her fall far slower so she'd safely reach the ground. It was between keeping her in his care and waiting for another man to come and try to free her, or just letting her go with the blond she actually seemed to..._care for._

_She might not have been my ideal 'daughter', but I don't hate her... _Arthur thought, _Natalia's grown up anyway...And I suppose the curse is basically broken thanks to this Alfred... And I'll have the place to myself again..._ The decision was fairly clear on what spell he'd cast.

Just as Natalia thought she'd soon smash against the ground, she felt a magical force slow her down, as if the air turned to molasses. Her screams ceased, eyes opening only to see a faint golden glow around her, leading her down to the ground with the grace of a gently falling feather.

Alfred, once again, was dumbfounded. He obviously wasn't expecting any of this to ever happen to him, and especially all simultaneously in the same day. But seeing the princess with sparkles of gold around her figure made her seem even godlier than when he'd gazed upon her in the tower; and this time she was floating down towards him.

"Natalia..." He whispered, holding his arms out to catch her, smile dominating his face.

The girl didn't say a word, simply blushing, her lips curving into a sweet smile, something she'd never really done before. She floated into Alfred's arms, the gold light fading once she was settled. Her dark blue eyes gazed into the lighter blue ones of the American, twinkling with so many emotions she never expected to feel, some which she couldn't even name.

From up in the tower, Arthur smirked, feeling content now that his long duty of guarding the princess could finally be considered over. And Natalia thought he was all bad and didn't care... She learned something there.

"Well..." Alfred sighed, "I ain't a prince, but if you come with me, I'll take you back to America. It's a place far from here, but the ride'll be worth it, I swear! You'll see! There are people from all over there! You name a kingdom and there are at least two or three families from there in America! I mean...I know you can have your throne...But I think you'll have more fun going somewhere a bit freer than this place."

That offer made the princess feel captured by an odd, warm, fuzzy sensation that flowed through her body. Not only was the curse broken, freeing her from the tower, but now she was being offered even more freedoms and a new life with someone who actually made her feel...good. He may not have been the smartest, or the most graceful, or the most agile; but Alfred had morals and manners that made him a far better person than any old prince.

"I...I'd like that..." Natalia softly replied, "I'd like that a lot... Alfred..."

Alfred chuckled, still staring into those dark blue pools.

"NIEGH!" Washington trotted over, nudging Alfred's head to push it towards Natalia's, the horse causing a small accidental kiss on the lips.

The instant Alfred's lips pressed against the soft ones of Natalia, his cheeks went red, another unexpected twist to his day happening. Natalia flushed furiously, heartbeat escalating as she savoured the surprise moment.

Alfred drew back rather quickly, wanting the moment to go on, but at the same time not wanting to push it. He could only have so much happen to him in a day. The blond narrowed his eyes at his steed, sensing that Washington hadn't done that simply by accident. Natalia giggled in amusement.

"Anyway..." Alfred looked back at his princess, "Shall we go to the land of the free, Nat?"

She smiled, then nodded, wrapping her arms around Alfred's neck and hugging him tightly. "I've been ready for nineteen years, Alfred." She muttered.

With a happy grin, Alfred laughed, placing the girl on the saddle of his steed before mounting himself. Then, once Natalia had clung to his back, Alfred grabbed the reins.

"COME ON WASHINGTON!" Alfred cheered, "TO AMERICA!"

A whiney came from the white beast before starting off, turning and heading in the direction of home, knowing where the land was by mere instinct.

The sun began to set as the duo rode away from the tower, Natalia taking one final glance back, memories of all her years inhabiting the tower rushing through her mind. She knew part of her would miss the tower, even just a little, though it was all worth it. She turned and looked ahead, knowing that she was going somewhere new, somewhere free, somewhere with Alfred. And she knew that, no matter what, she was going to where her life would begin.

~_**The End~ **_


End file.
